Chapter 12 Flashcards
Gene
- unit of heredity
- not a base pair, not a defined length
- genes contain the information necessary to make an organism and allow it to interact with its environment
- segments of DNA that code for something
- most genes code for polypeptides; a lot of “junk” DNA though: not genes
- polypeptides become a unit of function or protein
- activities of proteins determine structure and function of cell
- traits of characteristics of an organism- based on cellular activities
human genome
- collection of all genes needed for a human
- just expressed differently
gene expression
- gene function at the molecular level
- gene function at the level of traits
- the two levels are tightly woven together
- gene expression affects structure and function of cell-> determines traits of an organism
fly experiment
??
how does the cell read the information contained in the genomic DNA?
- DNA=linear polymer of nucleotides
- the order of the nucleotides carries the information needed to make gene products
- two step process 1. transcription and 2. Translation
What makes up a gene?
- region of DNA, 100’s to 1,000’s bp long
- promoter
- Transcribed region aka “coding region”
- Terminator
beginning with the simplest level of structure, which order of organization of genetic material is correct?
nucleotide, DNA, gene, chromosome and genome
Mendel
-had the idea that genetic information is transmitted by a particle carrying genetic information
wild type
- has nothing done to it
Archibold Garrod
- postulated that genes coded for enzymes
- inherited disease might be due to missing gene/ enzyme
Garrod studied Alkaptonuria
- Phenylalanine= essential amino acid
- Cannot be made, must be consumed
- in excess, it is converted to tyrosine and eliminated
- conversion to tyrosine involves multiple pathways
Beadle and Tatum studied Neurospora crassa
- common bread mold
- minimal requirements for growth are carbon source (sugar), inorganic salts and the vitamin biotin
- N. crassa has all the enzymes necessary to make small molecules (amino acids, vitamins) for survival and growth
- studied mutant strains of mold
- strains defective in amino acid synthesis
- Arginine auxotrophs- can’t make arginine
- unable to grow unless food is supplemented with arginine
- created mutants by exposing mold strains to X-rays
- concluded that a single gene controls the synthesis of a single enzyme
- one gene- one enzyme hypothesis
- close, not right
One Gene One enzyme?
- one gene- one enzyme hypothesis has been modified
- all genes encode proteins, not all proteins are enzymes
- more accurate: one gene encodes a polypeptide
- ex: hemoglobin composed of 4 polypeptides required for function
- 2 a polypeptides from one gene
- 2 B polypeptides from another gene
- one gene- one polypeptide theory
Central dogma
-DNA to mRNA to protein?
Transcription
- copying DNA into an RNA molecule or transcript
- DNA stays in nucleus
- making photocopies of book pages in the library
- the copies CAN leave the library
- RNA polymerase= the copy machine
- over 90% of all genes are structural
- directions for making a polypeptide
- produce a copy known as mRNA
- mRNAs carry the genetic information to the ribosomes
- where are ribosomes located?
3 stages of Transcription
- initiation
- elongation
- termination
Promoter; transcription
needed to initiate transcription